Machine for packing a predetermined weight of bulk products



June 24, 1958 E. H. cARRuTHERs 2,840,121

MACHINE FOR PACKING A PREDETERMINED WEIGHT OF- BULK PRODUCTS 5Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 12, 1953 zal FlG. l

IN V EN TOR.

` BY E 13E/7 A! @maur/fm June 24,.' '1958 E. H. cARRUrHERs 2,840,121

. MACHINE FOR. PACKING A PREDETERMINED 5 WEIGHT OF BULK PRODUCTS FiledNov.v 12, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 'June 24, 1958 E H. cARRuTHERs-2,840,121

MACHINE F'oR PACKING A PREDETERMINED WEIGHT oF BULK PRODUCTS Filed Nov.12, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN VEN TOR.

99 A /7 F IG. 4 55E/7 #cm/wams #JMA June 24, 1958 E. H. cARRu-rHERs2,840,121 MACHINE FOR PACKING A PREDETERMINED WEIGHT 0F BULK PRODUCTSFiled NOV. 12, 1953 5 ShSebS-Sheeb 4 IN V EN TOR.

BY 55E/y #c4/www5 June 24, 1958 Filed Nov. 12, 1953 E. H. cARRuTHERs2,840,121 y MACHINE FOR PACKING A PREDETERMINED WEIGHT 0F BULK PRODUCTS5 Sheets-Sheet 5 e e a 4a 4,110 A 5/ 6B l u :,f- .kw-m 'l 55, Y 2J FIG.lo

INVENTOR. BEYBE/y if .mm/mm United States Patent MACHlNE FOR PACKIN G APREDE'IERMINED WEIGHT F BULK PRODUCTS Eben H. Carruthers, Warrenton,Oreg. Application November 12, 1953, Serial No. 391,528

17 Claims, (Cl. 141-164) My invention relates to a machine for packing apredetermined weight of bulk products. Reference is made to my issuedPatent No. 2,601,093, issued June 17, 1952, entitled Method and Machinefor Packing a Predetermined Weight of Bulk Products, and to myco-pending application Serial No. 121,172 led October 13, 1949, entitledMachine for Packing a Predetermined Weight of Bulk Products.

While the machine of my invention has been particularly designed for thepacking of tuna, it has other uses. It may, for example, be employed inthe packing of other species of iish and may be adaptable to the packingof other food products, for example, sauerkraut or spinach. It furthermay be adapted to the packing of meat products which are packed in bulkor it may have uses in the packing of non-food products which are of apliable 2,840,121 Patented June 24, 1958 ice " beparticularly setforthin the claims and Willbe apparor deformable character. Theinvention of the present application discloses improvements in themethod andv machine shown in the above mentioned patent and appli-`cation. Y

An object of my invention 'is to provide an improved machine for packinga predetermined Weight of tuna or other bulk product in a container tothe end of accomplishing increased production and a saving in laborcosts.

Another object of my invention is to-provide improved means for holdingthe tuna or other product while it is being cut off to container sizeand weight to enable a I' cleaner and more well dened cutting of bepacked.

Another object of my invention is to provide improved mechanism foradjusting the length of cut and hence the product to weight of tuna cutoif for deposit into a container to 'y thereby secure more accuratecontrol of weight.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a machine whichexerts a more gentle forming actionV on the tuna than the machines ofthe above mentioned patent and application to the end that a pack oftuna of improved appearance may be obtained when the tuna being packedis relatively soft or is freshv caught and packed without having beenpreviously frozen as in vthe case of tuna caught within a relativelyshort distance of the'major tuna packing centers of the west coast.

A further object of my invention is to provide a machine for formingwhole loins of tuna into a roll of tuna by a relatively gentle formingaction and improved means for cutting off the tuna whileit is held onboth sides of while the section is rigidly held; and then depositing the.i

cut off section in a container to be filled.

ent from the following description, when taken in con-y nection with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a vertical longitudinal sectional view taken through thepacking machine of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan View ofthe machine with the gear housing being shown in'horizontal section to show the parts. mounted therein; *j Fig. 3 is aview taken substantially on the line 34-3 of Fig. 2 in the directionindicated by the arrows;

Fig. 4 is a sectional-view taken substantially on the line 4-4 of Fig.2in'the direction indicated by the arrows; Fig. 5 s a detailed viewshowing the cutoif knife;v

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken substantially on the ine 6 6 of Fig. 2vin the direction indicated by the arrows;

positionand showing the chucky closing cam;

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 7 Vwith the forming chuck closed;

Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken substantially on-the line 9`-9 of Fig.2in the direction indicated by the arrows; and i Fig. 10 is a sectionalviewr taken substantially on the line 10-10 of Fig. 2 in Vthe 'directionindicated by. the arrows.

The machine of my invention has been particularly designed forthepacking ofa predetermined weight of tuna in each of successive Vcansor other containers. However, the machine of my invention may be adaptedto the packin'gffof otherl materials in bulk such as various kindsof/lish, meatfand certain types vof vegetables, for

, packing to machine packing of tuna. While the method and machine oftheabove mentioned patent and application have met with outstandingcommercial success, some diculty has been encountered in the packing ofsoft Aor fresh fish. i j i' f.

A large proportion of the tuna brought. to-th'e tuna packing centers ofthewest coast is caught at a long-distance from the packing centers.Tuna clippers range thousands of miles from their home portsfand may beaway at sea for 'many weeks at a time. Under suchconditions the clippersmust beprovided with refrigeration equipment to freeze the fish as theyare caught. A considerable volume of tunais also imported into thiscountry in a frozen condition, notably fromwlapan. i The flesh of suchtunawhen canned afterV thawing and cleaning, is usually/.relatively firmand the tuna loins arecapable of withstanding an appreciable Vformingforce exerted upon them.v The machines and method of the above mentionedpatent and application are admirably suited toV the packing offsuchrelatively rm iish. However, large quantities of tuna, particularlyalbacore, are caught Within a few hundred miles of ythernajor tunapacking ports on the west coast. This iishisusually not frozen.. and isbrought to port in a freshstate. Such fish is usually relatively softandtends -to breakup if the forming forces employedin packing the tunaintocans is too harsh. vThe primary purpose'of this invention istherefore to provide Fig. 7 is a view showing the formingl chuck in larropen ing 13. The motor 14 may Ibe either o fwthe variableV speed orconstant speed type.

Thefrn l "ne is `mountedfupony "abase/orbedplate 16. Themachiemounting-includes a. pedestal 17 carried by the bedplatie'.'and`anapron 18 preferably integral with the pedestal 17. The gear housing 13is also supported onthebedplatelti., .n ,1' jgrneioading and emrveyerseeaonrrigs. 1, 2 and 1o) comprises two AVbelts 19"which,fa's shown'inFig. 10, are arranged in'the` shape ofa V. to` provide-a trough open tthe top" intowhich the timaloins may *be loaded or packed.;lUponreferenceto Fig. n2it`wil1 be observed that this troughis relativelylong,fat least sufficient in length toenable at least one persony tostand adjacent the machine and loadthetrough vformed by the belts 19`with the Aloins'of tuna extending lengthwise of the trough' inoverlapping. `relation (seeFig- 2). It is desirable that the trough besubstantiallyuniformly loaded with tuna loinsso lthat the' weight oftuna per unit of length of the loading and conveyor section issubstantially a constant. Thisaids in `securingmore uniformweightgofpthe slices of tuna cut off in the manner presently to appear.With some practice,` an operator becomes quite proficient in securingapproximatelyuniform loading,` the depth of the trough and its crosssectional area serving `to some extentasa visual measuring chamber toguide the oper-` ator.A p d f Y v YThe belts 19 aredriven by a pair ofangeddriving (Fig. The `rlha'ft*2`2 projects into a housing 23 andjacent the end of the roll forming section from the brackets 36.

The roll forming section 11 comprises the ybelts 19 and their associatedparts, together with belts 41 which form a molding space or tunnel 42which, as viewed in Fig. l0, is essentially rectangular in crosssection. The function of the roll formingk or molding section of themachine is to mold the loins of tuna into a substantially homogeneousmass or roll of tuna which is of substantially constant weight per unitof length. lt will be particularly noted that theforces exerted by thebelts 19 and 41 are in a directiontransverse to the length of loins asthey appear in Fig; 2. The forming forces are entirely transverse to thelengthwise extent of the loins and parallel to the natural flake orlayer structure of theA tuna. Heavy molding forces are avoided vbecausethe entire tunnel is moving and only slight slippage of loins occurswith respect to-thebelts. Extensive rubbing of the sides of the loins bycontact with the belts is thus maintained at a minimum.

- The belts 4l pass over and are driven by large pulleys Each of thelarge pulleys 43 is keyed (Fig. l0) to a shaft 47. The shaft 47 issuitably journaled as shown at 48 and extends into a housing 49. A wormwheel 51 is mounted on the end of the shaft within the housing and isdriven by a worm 52 keyed to a shaft 53. As shown most clearly in Fig.2, kthe shafts extend through the housing 49 and are driven in a mannerwhich will presently appear. A i

The casting of which the housing 49 is a part, has an extension 56 whichis provided with a pair of slots 57. The slotsfare elongated inr adirection such as to enable a shifting of ythe housing 49, togetherYwith the pulley 43, angularlyV 45 with respect to the' horizontal so asto increase or Adecrease the molding' space provided by the tunnel, 42.The extension 56 through the slots 57 is A? bolted, as shown at 58, to abracket 59 carried by the is :suitably journaledas indicated at `24. Aworm wheel Y i l 63 are supported from a casting 66 (Fig. 9). The assem-26 is locatedwithin the housing 23 `is rigidlysecured to the shaft22.l`The ,worm wheel is driven by a worm 27 keyed to a shaft-28. The two.shafts 28 (Fig.`2) extend through bores formedin the housings` 23 andaredriven in a manner which will presently appear. The housings 13. aresupported bybrackrets 2-9 integraltherewith and mounted on the apron 18VasV shown at31 (Fig. 10)' I'he belts extend Arearwardly of themachinebeyond the end ofthe rollforming section 11 substantially to thechucking, cutting and` transfersection 12 (Fig. l). The belts 19 passaround idler rolls 32 where they form part of the end ofthe rollformingsection 1'1. kShields orthin support plates 33 having sideflanges lie |beneath eachjof the belts V19. These support plates 33atthe forthe driving rolls `21 and at their rearward ends extendsubstantially tangent to the idler rolls'32. `These'support plates `33.preventv the belts 'from `sagging when loaded with tuna and alsofunction to form part of a tunnel for forming the-loins of tuna intoY arollj'of tuna as will presently appear. The idler rolls 32 are freelyrotatable on stub shafts 34V whichare supported by a casting 36 (Fig.rigidly secured as shown `at 37 on the pedestal 17 lFig.1).' f

A fillery piece 38 essentially V-shaped in cross section ('Fig. 10)closes the longitudinal space between thelower Vedges of the `belts 19.This ll'ller piece extends from the forwardV end of the machine:adjacent the driving rolls 2j1 to a position beyond the idler rolls 32.Theller piece prevents small pieces of tuna which may'vbreakoff from theloins from dropping out of the trough. The filler pieceA is supported atthe forwardend of the machine by backets39 (Fig. 10) mounted on theapron 18 and ad- Vward end `of the machine are substantially tangent topedestal `17 as-shown at 61 (Fig.'l)`.

The idler rollers 44 (Fig. 6) freely rotate on shafts 62 (see ,also`Fig.9) the ends thereof being carried in openings formed 'in guide plates 63and 64. The guide plates bly formed by the rollers 44, guide plates 63and 64 and casting 66 is carried by a bracket 67 which is an extensionof the bracket 36. VThe bracket 67 has an enlarged bore 69 for thereception of a bolt 71 which is threaded to receive abearing Washer andwing nut 72. The enlarged bore 69 enables the idler rollers to beshifted in a direction 45 with respect to the horizontal to shift theidler rollers toward and from the central axis and thereby increase.` ordecrease the molding space defined by the tunnel 42. The enlarged bore69 also enables shifting of the idler roller forward and rearward of themachine.

Upon an examination of Fig. l and particularly Fig. 6, it will beobserved that the sets of idler rollers 32 and 44 lie substantially atthe discharge end of the tunnel.

" Thus the'smallestcross-sectional area of the tunnel is determined bythe relationship of these idler rollers and the cross-sectional area of`the tunnel at this point determines the cross-sectional area of theroll to which the tunais molded. It will further be particularly notedfrom an examination of Fig. 6 that the belts 41 overlie the belts 19.`The position of the Vidler rollers 32 is fixed, However, as describedabove, the positionof the idler rollers 44 is adjustable.

, From the above it will be clear that a number of adjustments of4theforming. tunnelor molding space 42 is possible., Upon loosening thewing nuts 72, the bolts may be shifted intheir enlarged bores 69 toshift the belts 41 (Fig. 6) inwardlyror outwardly with respect to theaxis of the tunnel 42 so as to decrease or increase the cross`sectionalarea to which theiroll is molded. It is also possible as willbe clear from `the above and an examination of the structure/that theidler rollers 44 may be shifted cause of the variable conditionsencountered in packing tuna. The tuna will vary in moisture content,density and degree of firmness depending upon whether it is fresh caughtor has been frozen and only recently thawed. These conditions may varyfrom hour to hour and by the means described, the tunnel may be adjustedby the operator with little or no interruption in production. The tunnelmay be made constant in cross-sectional area throughout itslengtl1;'made to decrease in cross-sectional v area toward the dischargeend; or may be increased or decreased in cross-sectional area as a wholeto increase or decrease the pressure applied on the loins.

The tunnel 42 at its entrance end is provided with what may be termed afunnel 76 (Figs. 2 and 10). The funnel has angularly shaped portions 7'7which are at right angles to each other to conform to the angularrelationship of the large pulleys 43. The funnel 76 is secured to theguide plates 63 by adjustable means which includes U- shaped slots 78and screws. The forward end of the funnel is curved upwardly and roundedas shown at 79 (Fig. l) to form an enlarged entrance for the receptionof the loins of tuna. The curvature of t.e forward end of the funnel issuch that it conforms substantially to the circular shape of the largerolls and is tangent to these rolls at a point spaced inwardly from theentrance end.

At the discharge end of the tunnel the machine is provided with whatvmay be termed a discharge throat. This discharge throat is made up ofthe two castings 64 (Fig. 9) and two plates 81, one of which is shown inFig. 9. As will be observed, the castings 64 have a portion which iscurved around the idler pulley and terminates inV an'edge 82 andarsurface S3 which lies tangent to the belts 41; The discharge throatplates 81 are also curved, as shown at 84, and have a surface Se' whichlies tangent to the belts 19. As will presently appear the dischargethroat formed as set forth above, receives the end of the roll of tunaand serves to hold it rigidly in position during cut-off.

As previously mentioned, support plates 33 extend substantially the fulllength of the belts 19. The belts :il are also supported by bars 87(Fig. 2) to avoid any extensive dellection'vof the belts 4l. Thus thetunnel 42, while essentially xed in cross-section when once adjusted canyield toy some extent by reason of the fact that the upperbelts 41 arenot supported throughout' their length as is the case with the lowerbelts19.

Thel mechanism thus far described Vforms the whole loins of tuna laidinto the V-shaped trough into a roll of tuna essentiallyv square .incross-section conforming lto thel shape of the't'nnnel 42V (Fig. l0).Thereafter, briey stated, mechanism is provided for intermittentlyfeeding the roll of Ytuna forward to a cut-off position in whichpositionthe portion of the roll to be cut off is enclosed vwithin lachuck; chuck closing mechanism is operated tol close vthe chuck and formthe roll of tuna into a cylinder of tuna somewhat smaller than thediameter of the container into which the tuna is to be packed; then aknife sweeps across the `faceof the chuck to cut off the formed sectionof tuna; the chuck lled with a slug orfcake of tuna, together with a canin alignment therewith, is indexed out ofthe cut-olf position to a`containerllling position; and then discharge mechanism is operated toforce the formed cylinder or slug of tuna out ofthe chuck Vinto thecontainer. All of the above operations are in timed relation with eachother and the mechanisms for carrying them out are driven from the motor14.v The various mechanisms will be described in the orde above setforth.

' 91 which extends over a driven pulley 92. The driven' pulley 92 ismounted on the end of a shaft 93 which` extends through the wall of thehousing 13. A sprocket "The motor I4 has a drive shaft SSWhiCh-liasapulley.A

89 rigidly secured thereto.v Thepulley 89 drives abelt rigidly securedto the shaft 93 drives a chain 94 ywhich drivesl a sprocket rigidlysecured to a main shaft 96. All of the mechanisms set forth above inoutline form are' driven from the main shaft 96. s

The mechanism for intermittently advancing the feeding and form belts 19and 41 to move a section of the tuna into the forming and cut-off`position comprises a feeding cam -97 rigidly secured to the main shaft96 (Fig. 2).' This cam has a single lobe and actuates a belt drive arm98. For this purpose the belt drive arm is pivoted on a pivot rod 99rigid with respect to'the housing 13 as shown at 101 (Fig. l). The beltdrive arm 98 carries a roller 102 which rides on the belt feeding cam97. A spring (not shown) normally urges the belt drive arm 98 in acounterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 4 so that the roller'isalways maintained in engagement with the belt feeding cam 97. Thus asthe feeding camis rotated the belt drive arm 98 is oscillated about thepivot 99 completing an oscillation each time the feeding cam 97 makes acomplete rotation; VA link 103 is pivoted at 104 to the upper end of thebelt drive arm 98. The other Vend of the link is pivoted at 106 to aslide block-107. The slide block 107 is movable in ways 108 in a mannerwhich will presently appear. The ways 108 are formed integral with anoscillating member 109 mounted on a shaft 111.

The intermittent feed for the feeding belts and the means for adjustingthe amount of feed. have been shown somewhat diagrammatically, themechanism'actually employed being known as a4 form sprag the relativelycom- 'Y plicated details of which need not be shown. In the drawings, Ihave shown a pivoted pawl 112 carried by the oscillating member 109which is pressed by a spring (not shown) into engagement with a ratchetwheel 113. The ratchet wheel, also for purposes of illustration, isintegral with a gear 114 which drives a pinion 116 rigidly secured to ashaft 117. A sprocket 118 rigid with the shaft 117 drives a chain 119which passes' over three additional gears 121 each of which is securedto a shaft numbered respectively 122, 123 and 124..

The vfour shafts 117, 122, 123 and 124 project-fo wardly through thehousing, three of these shafts being v shown in section in Fig. 3. InFig. 2 I have shown one of the upper shafts, the shaft 123 projectingthrough the forward wall of the housing 13. The shaft 123 is Y connectedthrough a universal joint assembly V126 to a short drive rod 127 whichis connected by a universalfjoint assembly 128 to the shaft 53 whichdrives Vthel large pulley 43 shown at the right of Fig. l0. The shaft122 similarly projects through the housing and .is connected byuniversal joint assemblies and a drive rod similar yto the correspondingparts above described and drives the other large pulley 43. The lowershafts 117 and V124 similarly project through the housing 13 and areconnected by universal joint assemblies and long drive rods 129 to theshafts 28. 1 1 As previously described, the shafts 28 and 53 drive thefeeding and forming vbelts' 19 and 41. The shafts 117, 1722, 123, and124 are intermittently rotated `as. previously described so that oneforward step of the feeding and forming belts 19 and 41 is taken eachtim'the belt feeding cam 97 is rotated.

' As previously mentioned, the condition ofthe tuna and the top oftliehosing 13. by means of the hand wheel has lt` eenshownVonlydiagrammatically, the actual mechanism' employed being known as aform sprag mechanisxn. Itis suicient to state. that` a form spragmechanism is equivalent to a pawl and ratchet `wheel construction in`which the ratchet wheelhas an infinite mlmberof `Thus by adjustment ofthe hand wheel 134 a small incrementorldec'rement in the amount of feedof the feeding and formingv belts 19 and 41 may be made. presently beshown, 'the operation of all other mechanism is maintained at.aconstant, considering the motor tobe driven at constant speed so thatan. adjustment ofthe amount of movement ofthe feeding and forming belts19 and. 41 will vary Vthe thickness of the slicey or slug of `tuna cutfrom the roll as will presently appear. It isimportant that thisadjustmentbe extremely tine and that the machine be capable ofadjustment without interrupting its operation as the latter means a lossof production. `Inaccurate weightsiof tuna is extremely serious `to thecanner, `not only because of Government weightstandards but also becausetuna is an expensive fish and:overweight cans of tuna must be avoided ifthe canner is to make a prot. c

".Bylthemeans: above described, thev roll or elongated massfoftunaisiintermittently-fed forward to a rotatable chuck assembly generallyindicated by the numeral 141 (see,Figs.13,7/and 8)'. `The `chuckassembly comprises a rotatable dist: 142v keyed to a shaft'143 (Fig. 1).The chuck'disc 142 hasa plurality `of cavitiesv orsemi-cylinldricalropenings 144 formed -peripherally thereof, thepartialcylinders being somewhat smaller in diameter than the diameter ofthe containerinto which the tuna is to be packedfThese semi-cylindricalopenings 144 adjacent the periphery ofthe chuckdiscfhave at parts 145adapted to slidably receive movable chuck parts generally indicated bythe numeral 146.` .v

Each of the movable 4,chuck parts 146 includes an extension147 anda-pair of angularly extending forming parts148. VThe `inner side ofthese angularly extending forming parts 148 together with theinner endof the extension l47provides a forming surface, indicated by the numeral149, which as presently will appear engages the sides of the Aroll oftuna toform it into the shape desired. The forming section.148-,149maybe a section of a cylinder or` may be `shapedas shown which closelyapproximates the contour `of a cylinder.` The rearward sides of theangularly extending forming parts 148 are tlat and adapted to slideupongthe flattened peripheral ends of the semi-cylindrical openings 144formed in the chuck disc 142.,y i j. i

The chuck disc has a series of peripheral guides 152 whichextend'parallel Lto radii and which are provided with ways 153 forthe-reception of slideelements 154 formed .on the sides ofa movablechuck part 156. Each ofthe movable chuck parts` 156 is `cut out to forma section 1 57 which is a partial cylinder. V'The partial cylinder 157terminates in portions 158 constituting a slide for the angularlyextending forming parts 148 of the movable chuck parts 146.

j' guides -152 serve as a support for springs 1 59 as shown at 161. Theother endsof `the spring are'wrapped around pins 162 carriedby theextensions 147. kThe function'of thesprings V159 is to `move the formingsurfaces 148, 149 to the movable `chuck parts 146 away from each otherand at the samertimeexert pressure on the movable chuckppart 156 and`urgeiit `in an upward direction as '.viswed infie, 7. .f` l i It willnow be understood that the roll or elongated mass of tuna is formed bythe tunnel into essentially a square roll (Fig. 6) and the end of thisroll is fed toward and inserted inthe chuck when in the open conditionshown in Fig. 7. With the chuck in the open position the chuck openingis substantially larger than the crosssectional area of the sectionoftuna inserted therein. By mechanism presently described, the chuck isclosed by moving the movable chuck part 156 downward from they positionshown in Fig. 7 to the position shown in Fig. 8. Downward movement ofthe movable chuck part 156 exerts pressure on the outer sides of theangularly extending forming parts 148 and this pressure causes the mov-hable chuck parts 146 to move from the position shown in Fig. 7 kto thatshown in Fig. 8. Y The closing of the chuck changes the cross-sectionalshape of the tuna within the cavity formed by the chuck to form anessentially cylindrical section or slug of tuna slightly smaller thanthe cross-sectional area of the can or other container in which the'tuna is to be packed.

The means for closing the chuck to form the cake or slug of tuna priorto cut off comprises a chuck-closing cam 164 (Figs. 2 and 7) adapted toengage the movable chuck part 156 asshown at 166. The chuck-closing cam164 is keyed to a shaft 167 (see also Fig. 2).

As shown most clearly in Fig. 4, the chuck-closing shaft 167 extendsinto the housing 13 and is rigid with an arm 168. The other end of thearm 168 has a roller 169 mounted thereon which rides on a cam 171. Thecam 171 is mounted on the main shaft 96 and has a single lobe adapted toactuate the arm 168 and hence close the chuck once during each 'rotationof the main shaft. A spring (not shown) maintains the arm 168 in aposition such that the roller 169 rides on the cam 171.

Cans enter the machine from a can loft through a can chute 173 (Figs. land 3). The can chute'173 is rigidly secured to and spaced from thehousing 13 by bolt Vand spacing sleeve assemblies 174. The cans dropinto the pockets 176 of a can turret 177. The forward wall 178 of thecan chute lies closely adjacent the Adischarge side of the chucks asshown in Fig. 1. It serves as an abutment against which the end of theroll of tuna is fed in the manner described above. Thus, when the chuckcloses, the slug or cake of tuna is confined by the abutment plate 178and the chuck. That portion of the roll not within the confines of thechuck is rigidly held by the discharge throat plates 81 and 83 (Fig. 9).

While held in the manner above described and during the interval whenforward motion of the roll of tuna is interrupted, the slug or cake oftuna within the contines of the chuck is cut off by a guillotine knife181 (Fig. 5). From an examination of Fig. 9, it will be clear that onlysuliicient space exists between the entrance face of the chuck and theouterends of the plates 81 and 83 forming the tunnel discharge throatfor the knife to descend and move downward through the roll of tuna tomake the cut. Since the roll of tuna while it is cut is confined andheldrigidly on bothrof the sides of the cut, the exposed surfaces are cutcleanly. l j

As previously mentioned, means have been provided for varying thethickness of the slice or slug of tuna from the roll. It will beunderstood that the plate 178 forms an abutment against which the rollof tuna is fed. If it is v desired to increase the weight of the slug orcake ofA tuna cut off, the amount of movement of the forming tunnel isincreasedby a small increment which serves to compress the tuna slightlyagainst the wall 178, thus increasing the amount of ll. Since the sizeof the chucks and thecross-sectional area of theforming space issubstantially that required` to accommodate the proper weight of tuna,only slight changes in the cross-sectional area of the tunnel or theamount of feed is required to adjust the weight for a 'proper ll of thecontainers.

The guillotine knife 181 is mounted on an arm 182 which is rigidlysecured to `a shaft- 183 (Figs. 2 and 5).

other end thereof which rides on a knife cam 192. A'

spring (not shown) maintains the arm 188 in the down position shown inFig. 4 with the roller 191 riding on the knife cam 192. The cam 192 isrigid with the main shaft 96 and actuates the knife 181 to provideacutting stroke and a return stroke of the knife once during eachrotation of the main shaft 96.

After the chucks have been filled and closed and the slug orncake oftuna to be placed in the container has been cut off as described above,the chuck assembly 141 together with the container or can turret 177 isrotated. As will be observed from an examination of Fig. 3, six chucksare provided so that upon each rotation, the assembly of chucks and canturret rotates through 60 degrees. For this purpose the chuck assemblyis keyed as shown at 196 to the shaft 143. The shaft projects through anelongated bored boss198 formed yin the-housing 13, suitable bearings 199being provided to support the shaft. l j

The can turret 177 comprises two circular plates or discs in which thecan pockets 176 (six in number) are located. The can pockets 176 are inalignment with the chuck opening when lthe chuck is in the closedposition shown in Fig. 8. The discs forming the can turret 177 havecentral openings, the margins of which extend in encircling relationtothe boss 198 and are tied to the chuck disc 142 by means of bolts 201.Suitable spacing sleeves 200 separate the discs forming the can turretand separate the can turret from the chuck disc 142.

The shaft 143 projects into the housing, 13, and a Geneva motion gear202 is keyed to'V ytheend of the shaft. Referring'to Fig. 4, the Genevamotiongear 202 has six stations or pockets, for the reception of an`actuating element 203 formed on a Geneva motion Vmember 204. Since theGeneva motionsfare well understood in the art, it will not be furtherdescribed, it being suflicient to state that the Geneva motion member204 is keyed to the main shaft 96 and for each complete rotation of themain shaft the Geneva motion gear 202 is moved through one station or60. This rotation of the can turret 177 and the chuck assembly 141rotates these parts counterclockwise as viewed in Fig. 3. to a positionwhere'y mechanism is provided to transfer the cake or slug of tuna fromthe chuck into the can or other container to be filled. At the canfilling station, a combined plunger and tamper 208 is provided (Fig. 2).This plunger is slightly smaller than the diameter of the can and thechuck when closed. It is adapted when actuated to push the slug or cakeof tuna out of the closed chuck and transfer the slug of tuna to thecan. The plunger enters the can slightly and pushes the slug of tuna tothe bottom thereof, exerting a slight pressure on the face of the slugwhen bottomed in the can to smooth the surface. The cake is depositedbelow the rim of the can a distance suicient to provide proper headspacein the can.

The plunger 208 is secured to a plunger rod 209 which Y is slidablysupported in a connecting arm 210. A spring 211 is interposed betweenthe plunger 208 and the connecting arm 210. A suitable stop 215 isprovided to retain the plunger rod 209 in the bore provided in theconnecting arm 210. Thus the pressure applied on the plunger or tamper208 is a yielding one, the spring yielding and limiting the forceapplied on the slug of tuna when deposited in the container.

The connecting arm 210 is rigidly secured to a tamper rod 212 whichprojects through a bore provided in the housing 13 within which bore thetamper rod 212 is slidable. A pair of flat bars 213 are rigidly fixed tothe rod 212 to form a yoke slotted as shown at 214 to receiveunderstood.

fin the manner described above.

, 10 i the pivot pin 217 of the bar lever 216. The'otherV end of thelever 216 is pivoted, as shown at 218, on aboss rigid with the interiorwall of the housing 13. Intermediate the end of the arm 216, a roller219is secured which rides in a cam groove 221. The cam groove is formedin a cam 222 which is keyed to the main shaft 96. It will now beunderstood that for each rotation of the main shaft 96, the plunger 208is moved from the Vsolid line position to the dotted line position shownin Fig. 2 and restored to the solid line position shown in that view.

Upon the next rotation of the can turret, the can just lled is rotatedthrough V60" and a filled new chuck and can presented to the tamper orplunger 208.v The filled can is intercepted by the end 216 of a canchtite 218 for discharge of the lled cans from the machine.r Duringtheir passage from a position of alignment with vthe plunger to thedischarge'can chute 218, the cans are confined by a can guard 219 whichencircles lthe path of movement of the cans.

Upon an examination of Fig. 3, it will be noted that the chuck closingcam 164 isl formed on the arc of a circle." This arc is substantiallycoincident with the curvature ofl a chuck retaining guard 221 whichencircles the axis of rotation of ythe chuck. When the movable chuckpart 156 rides from beneath the chuck closing cam 164, it rides beneaththe chuck guard 221 which retains the chuck in the closed positionduringA discharge ofthe slug of tuna from the chuck until the chuckreaches a position adjacent the discharge chute 218.

It is believed that from tbe foregoing the construction and operation ofthe'machine of my invention will 'be However, briefly the operationsoccur in this sequence. The loins of tuna are manually deposited on thebelt 19 and m'oved into the'forming` tunnel' which forms the tuna intoan elongated roll essentially rectangular in cross-sectional area. Thistunnel may be adjusted The end of the roll is inserted in an open chuckas the roll is intermittently fed forward. Thereafter the chuck isclosed and the slug or cake of tuna within the chuck is cut ofi` whilethe material is'rigidly held on both sides of the cut. Thereafter thechuck and cans are indexed to the can filling position, in whichposition the cans Vare filled and tamped. Thereafter the chuck assemblyis again indexed and the filled cans discharged from the machine asabove described.

While I have shown and described the preferred form of my invention, itwill be apparent that various changes and modifications may be madetherein, particularly in the form and relation of parts, withoutdeparting from the spirit of my invention as set forth in the appendedclaims.

I claim:

l. A machine for packing materials into a container of substantiallyconstant cross-Section comprising, in combination, a moulding tunnel atleast part of the walls of which are movable for moulding the materialinto an elongated roll of substantially constant weight per unit oflength, said weight per unit of length being substantially that to beplaced in the container, a moulding chuck movable from an open to aclosedv position and into which the end of said roll of material is fedby said movable tunnel, means for opening and closing the chuck to moldthe material within the chuck into a section of material of containersize and shape, means for cutting off said section from said roll, andmeans for moving the movable walls of said tunnel.

2. A machine in accordance with claim 1 in which part of the mouldingtunnel isl'elongated in a Vdirection forwardly of the machine to form aloading station in which loins of tuna may be placed in overlappingrelation.

3. A machine in accordance with claim l in which the moulding chuckafter the section has been cut off is indexed to a containerfllingstation and means are provided for transferring the section to acontainer at said station.

4. A machinein accordance-,with claim 1 in which the moulding tunnel isformed by at least four movable members placed angularly with respect'to each other.

5, A machine inaccordance with claim 1in which` the moulding `tunnel ismoved intermittently to move the roll toward the chuclo y A 6. AAmachine in accordance with clairnl in which the tunnelv is movedintermittently in steps to move the roll toward'lthe chuck and means`are provided;for varyingv the amount ofgmovement of the tunnel 'atA eachstep to vary theweight of material fed into the chuck,

7. A rnachine in `accordance with claim l in which the crossfsectionalarea of thetunnel may bevaried.

8. A machine in accordance Vwith, claim 1 in whichl a series ofchucksare mounted in a rotatable turret and means are provided for indexingthe turret to move a chuck into alignment with the `end of the rollofrnaterial and move the filled chuck fromsaid lposition of alignment toa transfer station. l

9. A machine in accordance `withclaim l inwhich a turret is provided inwhich a series of chucks are mounted and` into which containers, tothefilled are deposited with theiropen'ends facing, and in alignment withthe chucks, means are v provided for indexing the turret to move a chuckinto alignment with the end of the roll of material and move the filledy,chuck from said position of alignment to` a transfer station, andmeansare provided for transferring the section of material to a container.

l0. A machine for packing materialsin a container comprising, incombination, means for moulding the material into an elongated roll, achuck movable from an open to a closed position, means for opening andclosing the chuck, means for moving the end of said roll into saidVchuck when open, `and means for cutting off .the

section of said roll within the chuck after the ychuck has been closed.

y ll. A machine in` accordance with claim l in which.

means are provided-adjacent the end of the moulding means for enclosingand holding the roll, a cut-off knife, said enclosing and holding ymeansbeing spaced from the face ofthe chuck a distance substantially onlysucient to enable the cut-orf knife to pass down between the enclosingand holding means and the face of the chuck.

l2. A machine for vpacking materials in a containerV moulding tunnel.

14, A machine in accordance with claim 12 in which the belts are mountedon rollers the axes of rotation of which may be adjusted to vary thecross-sectional area of the tunnel at any transverse plane along itslength.

l5. A machine in accordance with claim 12 in which the moulding tunnelhas a funnel-shaped entrance.

16.V A machinevin accordance with claim l2 in which Ifour plates areprovided at the discharge end of a tunnel with ,theplates having planarsurfaces which extend tangent to the ends of the belts to form adischarge throat.

17. A machine for packing materials in a container comprising, incombination, means for moulding the material into an elongated roll ofsubstantially rectangular shape of a desiredcross-sectional area, meansfor moulding the end of the roll Vinto a slug of material of circularcross section, means for cutting-off the end of the roll which has 4beenmoulded into a slug of circular cross section and means for rigidlyholding the material on both sides'of the cut during the cuttingoperation.

K References Cited in the tile of this patent f UITED STATES PATENTS vOTHER REFERENCES Food Industries, December 1949, pp. 7172.

